Thursday evening, breakfast for dinner

[cleolinda]

So I couldn't sleep last night. Stone cold bolt upright awake until sometime after four in the morning. And it was that kind of insomnia where it actually becomes distressing to stay in bed after a while--not just boring, actually uncomfortable. I kept getting up and going to the bathroom and checking my email just for the hell of it. So I got about two hours of sleep, and then, when I tried to take a nap on the couch this afternoon? STONE. BOLT. AWAKE. I may never actually sleep again.

I did get a really cute bottle of OPI for a dollar, though. Cozu-Melted in the Sun! Sparkly. Also, I made blueberry muffins and spent much of the day reading The Encyclopedia of Fantastic Victoriana. I just started with the first entry under A and jumped around from there. The best part was, the entry on "Fin de siècle unease" answered a question I'd actually kept forgetting to research, which was, in a nutshell, which countries were on Britain's shit list at the very end of the decade (I'm great with social history but not so hot with nineteenth-century wars).

My first attempt at repurposing rosehannah as a writer's scrapbook: What Rose Hannah looks like.

Oh no! Our elephant died!

2 girls kicked off Ore. bus for kissing. No, I don't know why I kept imagining the two t.A.T.u. girls the whole time. Yes, I did have to go to Wikipedia to get the correct spelling of "t.A.T.u." Be less complicated, fake lesbians!

From particle_person: "Cleo, the NYTimes article did a much better job illustrating the WTF involved in the Leroy story."

Dave Barry running for president; hopes to get Keith Richards as running mate.

Invisible Doorbell.

Five things you might do with “all that ass.”

Web Host Pulls Plug On Perez Hilton.

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" Hacker Hoax. The leaked ending of the "hacked manuscript" is a fake. Probably. I saw a link to it, but I'm still not going to look.

AFI again rates 'Kane' as top movie.

There were notable changes elsewhere, though, with Martin Scorsese's 1980 masterpiece "Raging Bull" bounding upward from No. 24 in 1998 to No. 4 on the new list and Alfred Hitchcock's 1958 thriller "Vertigo" hurtling from No. 61 to No. 9 this time.

Charles Chaplin's 1931 silent gem "City Lights" jumped from No. 76 to No. 11, while the 1956 John Ford-John Wayne Western "The Searchers" took the biggest leap, from No. 96 all the way to No. 12.

... Of those newer films, only four made the top-100: 2001's "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" (No. 50), 1998's "Saving Private Ryan" (No. 71), 1997's "Titanic" (No. 83) and 1999's "The Sixth Sense" (No. 89).

... Films that dropped out of the top-100 this time included 1965's "Doctor Zhivago," which had been No. 39 on the 1998 list; 1984's "Amadeus," [WHAT] which had been No. 53; 1977's "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," which had been No. 64; 1990's "Dances With Wolves," which had been No. 75; and 1927's "The Jazz Singer," which had been No. 90.

Moviefone's 25 Worst Sequels of All Time. Okay, quit it with the lists, people.

William Shatner Reportedly Angry Over 'Star Trek XI' Snub.

The Edge of Love Poster; Keira Knightley sings in The Edge of Love.

First Trailer for Nicole Kidman's 'Margot.'

Harry Potter fans enjoy a magical summer.

Warner Bros. Will Make 'Blade Runner' Announcements at ComicCon.

New Posters for "The Incredible Hulk' and 'Iron Man' Hit Net. Also Iorek! Also Where the Wild Things Are!

Will Smith's 'Tonight, He Comes' Gets New Title. Yeah, I bet he does.

Captain America is Coming. Yeah. Yeah, I bet he is.

Cowboys & Aliens: The Movie.

Chris Evans Acknowledges ‘Fantastic Four’ Failings, But Sees Growth Ahead. Eventually it'll just be kind of mediocre! You just wait!

Can be sleeps tiem soon? Please. Please be sleeps tiem.

Comments

[thyroyalmajesty.livejournal.com]

Remedies from a former insomniac!

1. Make yourself as physically comfortable as possible. Go to the bathroom, take a shower if you feel sweaty or grimy, rub lotion on dry hands and feet. Wear loose, comfortable pajamas with the tags cut out.

2. White noise. A fan, or a heater in the winter.

3. Block out all light. Not even the teeniest crack from a window. Use a sleep mask if necessary.

4. Aromatherapy. I use Bath & Body Works' Pillow Mist in Vanilla Lavender.

5. Lull yourself to sleep by reading a book (one you're ALREADY READ BEFORE, mind - nothing to make yourself want to stay up "just to finish the chapter"). I also re-listen to my favorite comedy albums. The familiar routines and comforting cadence of speech puts me right out. (Unfortunately, while I was in college, this also trained me to fall asleep during lectures.) DO NOT WATCH ANY TV OR MOVIES. The motion activates a "trigger" in your brain that compels you to wake up and watch.

Whatever routines you choose, stick with them every night. Eventually you'll train yourself to fall asleep.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

You know, I actually have one of those "nature sounds" things that someone gave me as a gift. Maybe I'll put on some soothing ocean waves tonight.

[camisado.livejournal.com]

Regarding #5 - this also gave me trouble with school, and not just lectures, but having to do any readings. :-S

[particle-person.livejournal.com]

Aw, I gives you sleeps.

Will Smith's 'Tonight, He Comes' Gets New Title. Yeah, I bet he does.

...I may have chuckled for a good 45 seconds over that.

[particle-person.livejournal.com]

Oh jeez, the new title is John Hancock. DYING HERE.

[iczer6.livejournal.com]

I came across this a few days ago and I think it might help you feel a little better.

Lolcats tee-shirts. (http://www.thinkgeek.com/brain/whereisit.cgi?t=lolcats&x=30&y=4)

[rosetapestry.livejournal.com]

ooooh! I love the fill-in-the-blank version.

[claidissa.livejournal.com]

!! I expected better from you, TriMet veteran. :(

Also, all lesbians look like t.A.T.u.

[dives.livejournal.com]

I expect very little from TriMet now for two reasons:
1) 4 years ago, a youth ticket cost 90 cents
2) this (http://finwake.blogspot.com/2006/08/continuing-adventures-of-bus-to-africa.html#links) story. Gotta love that casual prejudice.

[elendiari22.livejournal.com]

How on earth did Amadeus get knocked off the top 100 list? Maybe I'm biased (I was raised on the film; my dad's response to complaints of boredom was "Go watch Amadeus.") but it's an incredible film, and the ending is killer.

[gwenmary.livejournal.com]

Oh, the Harry Potter hacker thing made me so mad. Not so much mad as just irritated. I did get a chance to read what they claim is the leaked ending and I'm almost certain it's got to be a hoax. It was just so ridiculous. It's amazing what people will do for attention.

[lauramcvey.livejournal.com]

Is that the fake ending that was posted on Encyclopedia Dramatica?

[lauramcvey.livejournal.com]

Re: Those girls getting booted off the bus. *chants* SUE HIM, SUE HIM, SUE HIM! And the woman who was bitching about them in the first place, for that matter.

[lilgoala.livejournal.com]

"And the woman who was bitching about them in the first place, for that matter."

Nah. People are entitled to their opinions, but the driver definitely should have told her to stfu and deal.

[pinstripe-bindi.livejournal.com]

Thought you might be interested in this for the next batch of linkspam:

First FDA-approved OTC diet pill tends to make people shit their pants, basically (http://www.philly.com/dailynews/features/20070621_Kimberly_Garrison___Thinking_about_Alli__Beware_of_its_unpleasant_side_effects.html). The best way to avoid this is by eating a low-fat diet. And exercising is good. So why the hell should we spend $60 a month on the pills??

[barrelgoddess.livejournal.com]

The really hilarious bit is, as Stephen Colbert pointed out on last night's Colbert Report, the official website for the pills actually suggests wearing dark pants(and bringing a change of clothes to work). XD Adding to the humor was that when I hit up the website after that brilliant segment, it loaded so slowly on my cable connection that I wondered if hojillions of other people had the same idea...

[jennnk.livejournal.com]

I saw what was in the "spoiler" and I can assure you that either it's a fake or it's the worst synopsis ever written, not just for the content but for the presentation, too. Seriously, he got his hands on an electronic copy, and posted the spoiler to make it "boring" for fans so they'd stop reading it and stop converting to neo-paganism (yes, that was his stated motivation), yet he didn't post the whole damned thing? if he really did it, either way he's in shit with Bloomsbury's legal dept, may as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb, but no, all he did was "x kills y in blah blah blah. then q kills z but it was really u doing yadda yadda and the internal drama goes on for like 6 pages, then w starts making bloopidy bloo for fun & profit. haha suckers, now you have no reason to read the stupid book." And if the guy really did post the ending, I'll eat my words but as it stands now I don't believe him.

[raven-oreilly.livejournal.com]

lol "The Pope-made-me-do-it"

What a loser. These Harry Potter Haters are so annoying. The whole "promoting witchcraft" is so ridiculous it boggles my mind.

[metonymy.livejournal.com]

Man, the JT Leroy thing just makes me think of MsScribe all over again. What's Charlotte Lennox up to these days?

I also don't think the HP spoilers are real, and even if they are, for the most part it's stuff that's been well within the realm of fan speculation - I had actually discussed one with a friend the day before.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

I think Charlotte Lennox is like Batman--she goes back to the Batcave until Gotham Needs Her Again.

[theatre-angel.livejournal.com]

The sexual connotations will never leave that Will Smith movie. Also, Chris Evans' participation in the F4 franchise completely baffles me, because he is actually a really, really good actor.

[hulamoth.livejournal.com]

a really, really good actor
as is Ioan Gruffold. And Jessica Alba aspires to be.

[obigrrl.livejournal.com]

*headdesk*

you're kidding, right?! a movie of Where The Wild Things Are?!?!!

i loved that story as a child, but seriously...a whole frickin' movie?! the whole book is only 48 PAGES

either that's going to be one really short movie, or it'll be so full of cgi and pointless filler that it won't be any good

i'm disappointed by this news :(

[chrryblssmninja.livejournal.com]

-sends sleep dimension-

[lilgoala.livejournal.com]

I really, really really hate Perez Hilton.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

I wasn't going to get into it (out of pure laziness), but YES.

[lauthe.livejournal.com]

Is this (http://nailgal.com/displayimage.php?album=search&cat=0&pos=3) the nail polish you got? Preeeeetty. I don't have much OPI, but I love their colors.

(I don't know if you've ever been to to Community Nail Polish gallery, but yeah, it's the best thing ever. I can waste hours there.)

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

See, I get my OPI used from a nail salon--they sell off the colors they don't want anymore for a dollar or so. Which sounds a little gross when you put it that way, but at least it's polish that's been used in a professional environment instead of someone's possibly icky home.

[katiekins.livejournal.com]

When I had terrible insomnia the only thing that got me through was listening to audio books (of books I had already read and loved). Audible is my friend.

[bandersnatch42.livejournal.com]

Have you ever read that short story by Murakami about the woman who stops sleeping? It's very good--I think it's in The Elephant Vanishes.

[kvschwartz.livejournal.com]

Let's hear it for _Citizen Kane_! Yaaaay.

I find listening to music helps me sleep.

[annlarimer.livejournal.com]

"Hooray for the bulldog!"

[kookaburra1701.livejournal.com]

The one thing that finally worked that wasn't a drug for me was catnip tea. I have a plant I grow on my balcony for my cat, and whenever I'm too keyed up to sleep, I get some leaves, crush them, and let them steep in hot water for half an hour. Catnip reaaally takes the edge off.

Sleepy-time

[comixfan.livejournal.com]

Are you taking a multi-vitamin with science gone wrong levels of B vitamins? I've known a couple of people who had basically the same kind of trouble sleeping who were taking one-a-day vitamins. As soon as the vitamins were out of the picture they started sleeping again.

Re: Sleepy-time

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Actually, no vitamins at the moment, no.

More cat macros for your linkspam :)

[obigrrl.livejournal.com]

Re: More cat macros for your linkspam :)

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Happy birthday!

On the subject of stupidly pointless insomnia remedies

[xander77.livejournal.com]

Running until I... umm... can't run anymore, then alternatingly hot/cold shower seems to really tell the body that it needs some sleep.

Oh, and you probably know this, but you can write all sorts of interesting stuff while suffering from insomnia. You'll need to edit the hell out of it latter, but...

The AFI movie choices and phrasing really makes me appreciate every single "Mummy cock" insult Seanbaby directed at them (http://www.seanbaby.com/ifls/ )

[ratmmjess.livejournal.com]

Glad you're enjoying the book. *g*